View source for Frances Cecil, Countess of Exeter (died 1669)

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
'''Frances Cecil, Countess of Exeter''' (2 December 1630 &ndash; 2 December 1669),<ref name="Nichols1971">{{cite book|author=John Nichols|title=The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBk7AQAAMAAJ|year=1971|publisher=S.R. Publishers|isbn=978-0-85409-688-6}}</ref> formerly Lady Frances Manners, was the first wife of [[John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter]].
She was a daughter of [[John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland]], and his wife, [[Frances Manners, Countess of Rutland|the former Frances Montagu]].<ref>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 1363.</ref> The Countess of Exeter's sisters, [[Margaret Cecil, Countess of Salisbury|Margaret]], [[Elizabeth Annesley, Countess of Anglesey (died 1700)|Elizabeth]] and [[Dorothy Ashley-Cooper, Countess of Shaftesbury|Dorothy]], all became countesses.  Another, [[Anne Howe, Viscountess Howe|Anne]], became a Viscountess.
She married the earl on 8 December 1646.
Two of their children survived infancy:
*[[John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter]] (c. 1648–1700)
*[[Frances Scudamore, Viscountess Scudamore|Lady Frances Cecil]] (1652–1694),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skidmorefamilyhistory.com/OP30%20Scudamore%20Portraits%20Once%20at%20Holme%20Lacy.pdf|title=THE SCUDAMORE PORTRAITS ONCE AT HOLME LACY, AND OFFERED FOR SALE IN 1910. Occasional Papers, no. 30 |author=Warren Skidmore|website=Skidmore Family History|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref> married [[John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore]].
The countess's portrait in miniature was painted in about 1646 (the year of her marriage) by [[Samuel Cooper (painter)|Samuel Cooper]], and is held by [[Burghley House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.burghley.co.uk/collections/collection/frances-countess-of-exeter-nee-manners-by-samuel-cooper-circa-1646/|title=Frances, Countess of Exeter, nee Manners, by Samuel Cooper (1609-1672), circa 1646.|website=Burghley House|access-date=4 March 2018}}</ref>
Some sources give the date of her death as 1660, but the parish register of [[St Martin's Church, Stamford]], shows her to have been buried in December 1669.<ref name="Nichols1971"/> A few weeks after her death, the earl married [[Lady Mary Fane]], daughter of [[Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:1630 births]]
[[Category:1669 deaths]]
[[Category:English countesses]]
[[Category:Daughters of British earls]]
[[Category:17th-century English women]]
[[Category:Manners family|Frances]]